Gender is the social construct which divides men and women into distinct categories of existence. In a Freudian conception, that line might be drawn at castration: the man is natural and whole, while the woman exists "only in relation to castration" (Mulvey 6). Though this should not be interpreted in a strictly biological sense, it represents a certain theory of the societal construct embodied in gender. The phallus represents power in the patriarchal order, while the woman's lack thereof represents her supposed inferiority.

Fortunately, this phallic theory—inherently bound by nature—is growingly fallacious. It is precipitated on castration as punishment: her phallic deficiency proves the "established guilt of the woman." Yet, gender is increasingly accepted as divorced from physical essence. If males might voluntarily choose the role of women, then gender itself cannot be seen to indicate punishment but merely role. Simultaneously, technological progress is precipitating the physical and social "erosion of gender itself." (Haraway 23) The cyborg, capable of assuming either sex, lives in a "world without gender." (Haraway 2) More immediately, just as nobody knows you're a dog on the internet, they also don't know you're a woman.

Thus, gender is a social label simultaneously applied by oneself and by others based on particular physical, intellectual, and social characteristics which can vary across societies. Yet, as we move closer to self-application (and away from societal-labeling), it seems to be time to embrace the beauty inherent in that division. When a female is free to assume the role of a man in certain societal constructs, it seems perfectly acceptable that a female celebrates her role of womanhood. Thus, if freely-chosen and self-identified, a girl should be free to enjoy being a girl.